VivirLatino

I covered the Latin Grammy Awards twice for VivirLatino. Once when they were in New York City and I was beside myself for being given official credentials (and honor I am no longer impressed by), and once when they were in Las Vegas where I went to every free event because I made myself broke just getting there. These were the Latin Grammy Awards, the equivalent of Latino History Month, a segregated space completely controlled by the major music labels and the Spanish language media. Media like me were essentially locked into a media room, watching the event on television, interrupted constantly by a parade of winners and hosts we could yell questions at but not video tape (in Vegas at one point a Univision employee actually stepped in front of my camera to block my taping). I’ll admit that at first I was star struck. As an up and coming blogger I liked seeing Shakira, Ricky Martin, and Calle 13 up close and personal. I am particularly struck by the memory of Gustavo Cerati, long before he became ill.

But again those were the Latin Grammy Awards not the main event Grammy Awards being held tonight in Los Angeles and yet there is much talk and protest about the role of artists of color and exclusion.

With the sudden, untimely, and unexpected death of Whitney Houston, there is remembrance but also reflection on how the music industry, fed by the talents of many people of color, but manipulated mostly by white run music moguls, only allowed so many women of color success stories at a time and within a very specific imagined framework. Whitney was every woman, but as soon as pressure and the temptations that come with it unleashed their demons upon her, the industry’s support waned in favor of the next, more wholesome, marketable black woman. Whitney Houston was presented as a caricature, much in the same way that Michael Jackson was. The focus became her weaknesses, her failures and this at a time when media shifted from print and video music channels to the every vigilant internet. While the cause of Whitney Houston’s tragic passing are still unknown, we do know the road that brought us here. As media consumers, so many of us hungrily watched her fall but did we offer her a hand to get back up?

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